Which Super Bowl 2017 Trends Have Popped So Far? (Part 1 of 2)

The Super Bowl is filled with rivalries, upsets and unexpected tears. And that’s just the action off the field!

In less than a week – months ahead of Cannes Lions – Ad Land and the viewing public will come together in the largest single-day viewing showcase on the planet: Super Bowl Sunday. After years of analyzing the ads surrounding the world’s top sporting events, here are a few trends, as well as predictions, for what we’ll see this week.

Enjoy!

Teaser Purpose Evolves

The data from past Super Bowls shows that teasers tend not to deliver engagement proportional to the budget invested in distributing them (according to our Super Bowl 50 study, teasers generated 10% of views last year, but only 2% of the 2016 Super Bowl ad shares).

So far we’ve seenadvertisers like Kia and Mercedes use teasers to drive ad tune-in, listing the quarter when their 2nd half ads will air. Kia’s teaser, featuring Melissa McCarthy marooned on an ice floe, might even accomplish what many Super Bowl advertisers try but fail to do… make people laugh!

And now we know to pay rapt attention to the 3rd quarter to see it. Announcing the time of tune-in is a smart approach given that 2 Super Bowls in the past 5 years experienced unplanned upsets (the Beyonce Blackout and Seahawks’ blowout) that affected ad viewing. These auto brands have effectively created their own insurance policies.

Brands Harness The Tech (R)evolution

While the action on the field is predicted to favor the New England Patriots (another blowout year?), marketers are promising to keep things lively with a few stunts taking advantage of the latest video tech and toys. We’re looking forward to:

Hyundai’s real time ad-shoot: The car brand has bought 90 seconds of airtime – enough time to develop a storyline and create an ad that will connect with viewers. Peter Berg, behind Hollywood epics Patriot’s Day and Lone Survivor, will throw his hat into the ring for agile content creation during the Big Game. This is the polar opposite of a big budget film and it’ll be interesting to see the final product!

Snickers’ live stream ad, starring Adam Driver, will be the culmination of 36 hours of live streamed content (wow, that’s ambitious to program). Kudos to Snickers for taking a risk on Ad Land’s most expensive stage;

Intel’s promise to cheat the laws of physics with virtual helmet cameras. We’ll admit, we’re pretty curious to see how this works out. It could usher in a great new camera-tech era, the next evolution after Go Pro wearables.

Big day at the Big Game for movies

Movie trailers tend to rank among the most shared ads of any given Super Bowl, and savvy brands have made ads that play like trailers (e.g. Coca-Cola and Hulk vs. Antman from last year’s Super Bowl).

Wix.com has Jason Statham and Gal Gadot starring in its already-released ad, and are banking on their star power exuding in a plainclothes restaurant takeover. Will people recognize Wonder Woman without her tiara? In other movie news, we not only have Peter Berg, but the Coen Brothers premiering Super Bowl spots.

Check in tomorrow to read additional trends we’re seeing, along with what we’re hoping to see during the Big Game.